'68 Mustang

[Lupin398]

I have a '68 mustang and I'm pondering on which six to put in it, I've heard from the BB6 forums that you guys over here are usually a little more experienced with cars and smaller vehicles. My brother has a 300 that needs a bit of a rebuild, but I could probably get it for free since it's just laying in his yard. Modifying the hood wouldn't bother me too much but I'm just curious if I would probably get better mileage out of a smaller inline six. Right now it has a 351 Windsor in it.

I just cleaned it out today and took pictures, be forewarned though, they are about 400kb or so each, which is why I'm just posting a photobucket link.
http://s735.photobucket.com/albums/ww351/jbarry45/

Feel free to leave comments.

 

[CoupeBoy]

That is a '68 Mustang, you can tell by the body line, quarter extension, and the front marker light. You can also tell that at some point in time it had the same external reflectors on the quarter panels that mine currently has. The 300 can fit but you have to make your own oil pan and motor mounts as well as creatively modify the firewall so you can set the motor back as far as possible. The 200 is a direct drop in with the right motor mounts (any frame and motor mount combination from any '65-69 Mustang will do) and the 250 can be made to fit with some modifications to the motor mounts or by finding the correct '69 *only* 250 mounts.

I am suprised that thing still has a 4 bolt rear in it with a 351.. I figured it would have ate that tiny thing in no time.

Here is your big issue, the 250 or 300 will bolt right up to your current bellhousing, but you do need to find the right flywheel and I'd recommend changing over to a cable throttle setup (actually I recommend that with any swap)

The 200 will be easier to find as they were made for a longer period of time, but you will have to find the clutch parts to make the swap work (bellhousing/flywheel/etc, as well as the Z-bar) but the motor and frame mounts will be easier to find.

NitrousNick has pictures and details of what it took to put a 300 into his '68 on here somewhere.

I see 3 pedals in there, should you for any reason ever decide that you want to convert to an automagic or you do not pursue the restoration of this car please keep me in mind.

-ron

 

[Lupin398]

Actually it has a C4 in it right now, but if there's a trans/motor combination that I can get to drop straight in with a manual instead of an automatic I wouldn't mind a bit. The C4 -was- in good working condition but obviously was not the original transmission, though being bolted to a block and mounted on the mustang it should be in decent condition at least to swap for another trans. I would like as close to a drop-in and bolt-up as possible, though the 200 may be what I want in the end since I wanted to use it as a daily driver.

Do you think the rust got too far out of control on it? Under the floorboards there are those steel U-shaped beams that are pretty nasty looking, the one on the driverside is only about 1 foot long(can see the entire thing it's right under the driverside floor) I'm unsure of the purpose of these things, on the driverside it seems to only help support the driverside floor panel.

Right now I think my plan is to get the parts primered up, get a windshield and seal up the inside if I can't get a motor, so that the inside is at least done up with seats and door, then get a motor/trans and run it into a place like AAMCO for a cheapy paint job, though I'm almost more concerned about de-rusting the underneath.

I have a gas tank for it though it possibly got humidity and a little rust/debris in the tank, any idea how to clean it up and save the cost of a new tank?

Edit: And thank you for pointing out the year, I just checked the title and it is a '68. Someone has to keep newbies like me straight topic title changed to reflect.

It also is actually a 5-lug rear, even if the pictures don't show it. I was kind of surprised at first, I didn't think you could get 4 matching rims two 4 lug, two 5 lug.

And I think that clutch pedal is just swingin' in the wind completely disconnected at the firewall.

 

[Vin Man]

Do you think the rust got too far out of control on it?

Yes, definitely to far gone in my opinion.
Not sure what part of the country you are located in, but you would spend less money in total buying something in better condition as opposed to getting this hunk safe and running. Here are a couple of listings from Arizona alone that are good deals:
http://phoenix.craigslist.org/wvl/cto/999372376.html
http://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/cto/1035114649.html
http://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/cto/1015773796.html[/url]

 

[Lupin398]

I'm on the exact opposite side of the country, Salt and water everywhere

But at the same time there's no way in hell I could put $5k down on a car, I was looking primarily for a junkyard motor and trans for mine to keep it cheap and simple hopefully with a junkyard that has a bit of a warranty too.

 

[Vin Man]

I'm on the exact opposite side of the country, Salt and water everywhere

But at the same time there's no way in hell I could put $5k down on a car, I was looking primarily for a junkyard motor and trans for mine to keep it cheap and simple hopefully with a junkyard that has a bit of a warranty too.

I hear you on the money. I honestly don't think it would be safe to drive that car even if you got it running. There is no frame on a Mustang - it is a unibody. When it rusts away, you comprise the structural integrity of the vehicle. There is way too much rust on that car to warrant a restoration (IMHO).

 

[Lupin398]

Less of a restoration more of a daily driver. From the most part it doesn't seem to bad at least on the inside, 98% of the stuff on the interior is all dirt that needs vacuuming out, and I really have to jack the bottom up to see if it's rusted too bad(I do have weld-in replacements for the floor panels by the way)

 

[bookworm007]

vin man has a point, but that is not to say its unfixable but from my experience with the rust I had to fix on my mustang the is usaully twice as much rust as what u can see, and then u have to cut back the rust till u get to fresh metal. But if u have the time and skill go at it u can literally buy any piece of sheet metal for that car. But if I had to do the work I would look for a different car. By the way the U shaped metal pieces are your front frame rails which since the mustang is a unibody are connected to the rest of the body. This means if they are rusted out u may have severe structural problems. Lastly if u still want to attempt to fix up this car I would have it chemically dipped to get rid of all the rust and find out exactly how much sheetmetal work u are looking at.

 

[Lupin398]

Well, I'll probably try to jack it up in the morning or this weekend to see how bad it is, it might not be as bad as possible because at one point someone had started restoring it, to what point I have no idea though.(I have all the seats to it with stock coverings I think and the only problem is the bottoms are a little nasty looking, and tons of other little interior parts, essentially I only need the bumpers, and the bits and pieces that go between the tailgate and the headlights, aside from the Mustang grille.)

But on a different topic, how reliable are the 200ci(3.3l) inlines? I've been reading some kinda bad stuff about them in this very forum I just don't want a timebomb waiting to blow, if they are unreliable I may just go with a 300(4.9) and just have to take more time and fabricate stuff! I just want a plan to know what I'll be dropping in when/if the time comes, or if I have to get another off someone, at least I'll have a vague idea of what I want to put in if it doesn't run.

 

[wallaka]

The 200 is as reliable as engines get. The problems come in when a person buys a car and is just learning how to maintain it, or diagnose the issues that come up with carbureted vehicles.

You'll see the same issues in the 300 forum. Or in V8 forums. Things as simple as checking the timing or initial carb tuning is a skill that is lost for most of the population. Routine maintenance in the 1960s often involved valve adjustments, etc., and everybody knew how to do it. Not anymore. Most of the problems are inexperience.

 

[CoupeBoy]

I'd fix it but for sure it would have to get new floors and front frame rails.. plus subframe connectors and a roll cage, and the obligatory export/monte carlo braces. Then install front seats only, some aftermarket fenders strategically replace steel in the back to make it whole again and drive the wee out of it.

Go look through this guy's stuff, it looks like he had to do a lot of the same things you are going to have to do to keep the car safe.

http://www.knowledgeorb.com/Mustang/aug_sept_2005.html

alternative 2 would be to build/find a frame and drop the whole thing down over a different chassis, then make your own floors out of flat steel. You'd also have to find creative ways of mounting the radiator and connection points for the fenders/hood hinges. Someday when I get around to it, my parts '68 will be going this route.

-ron

 

[Anlushac11]

Looks like same color I had on my 67 Cougar. Ivy Leaf Green.

Too bad its so far gone, looks like it would have been a very nice car.

 

[Lupin398]

I'm not 100% but I think someone started the restoration on the unibody with it off of the frame-rails, but I won't be sure until I jack it up. It was raining a bit today so today was a no-go too.

 

[shmoozo]

**cough-cough**

1967, 1968 & 1969 Mustang Fastback Body Shells

**cough-cough**

(just a thought)

 

[CoupeBoy]

I'll see your $16k upgrade (which still has no suspension/brakes/steering) and retalliate full frame starting at $3500
http://gmachinechassis.com/

Toss in a $700 one piece floor pan

Toss on a 1 peice front fiberglass front end for $1650
http://www.darkhorseracing.net/67-68_mustang.htm

(they've got other fiberglass if you need it, like a deck lid and bumpers)

Sub total $5850
I couldn't find rolling chassis prices on the gmachinechassis.com site, I assume you could add brakes, suspension and rear axle for under $6k (which seems kind of high since the frame is so 'cheap')
So, $11,850 and all body/structural rust is out of the picture..

-ron

 

[Lupin398]

Ok, the majority is sheet-metal that's underneath, and I have two brothers that weld so that shouldn't be too bad. But I need to get the body rolled over onto it's side, to do the welding and such, under the driver's seat appeared to be the worst where some sheet metal rusted out, but all-in-all not that bad around the rest by the looks of it.

 

[CoupeBoy]

Sounds like you need one of these..
Easy Tilter

Or you could have one of these built
Automotive_Rotisserie_Plan

-ron

 

[Lupin398]

Hm..Is the rotisserie a build-it-yourself? If so I may get some help in assembling one, it looks good. Any idea on how much weight the rotisserie would hold?

EDIT: Also, any idea where I could get a 200ci/3.3l for fairly cheap? And what would be a good trans to combo it with for mostly economy in a mustang? Hoping to hit 25-30mpg.

 

[CoupeBoy]

Yes, you can build it yourself, also Check out this rotiserrie instructions posted by SCC
Rotiserrie Pictures and Instructions

-ron

 

[Lupin398]

Cool, now all I have to do is find a 200ci to set in it. Any idea of where to get one that wouldn't require too much work? Like, new rings, seals, etc. and set in rather than a real rebuild with honing the cylinders and such.

Will the C4 bolt to the 200? Also curious of how to tell if it's actually a C4 or not, supposedly it's a C4 but it -could- be something else.

Edit: I didn't think about it, but a brand new radiator for a 351 could be rigged to work with a 200 right?